Purdham puts up game-high 31, honored pre-game for hitting 1,000 points
By Randy Arrington
SHENANDOAH, Dec. 18 — In an evenly matched Bull Run District opener for both Panther squads, Rappahannock managed to stay just ahead of Page County down the stretch to capture a 52-48 win on the road. The home-court Panthers shot only 22 percent from the floor and committed 11 turnovers, but they were still in the game up to the final minute.
“We missed like 28 shots in the paint area, that’s just brutal…left a lot of points at the line, five particularly in the fourth quarter. That right there would have been enough to win the game, they beat us by four,” PCHS head coach EJ Wyant said after Thursday’s loss. “We thought it was one we were gonna get, and should’ve gotten, but we kinda beat ourselves.”
Senior Ali Purdham put up a game-high 31 points against Rapp — adding to her career total, which eclipsed 1,000 back on Dec. 10 at Fort Defiance. A pre-game ceremony on Thursday marked the milestone as Page returned to its home court for the first time after a three-game stretch on the road.
“She’s just an awesome kid. Good basketball player, she’s versatile, she can do a little bit of everything. But the thing that I appreciate about her is, if she had her choice, I think she feels better dishing, having a nice assist and one of her teammates scoring more so than scoring herself,” Coach Wyant said of Purdham. “It’s definitely nice having her, she can score, she can rebound, she plays defense… I think growing up as a coach’s daughter, she has the IQ, she understands the game. She’s been around it her whole life. But even more than that, I appreciate that she’s an awesome kid — she loves her teammates.”
Both Coach Wyant and Purdham (as well as Coach Mike Purdham, or “Dad”) knew that Thursday night’s matchup was within grasp, and that it’s tough in a rebuilding program when those opportunities slip away.
“I think we played well as a team,” Ali said after the game. “I think our effort was there. We just gotta work on the little things, and the chips fall where they fall.”
Rappahannock got a great performance from freshman Kyndal Christian, who posted a team-high 16 points. Coach Wyant and company expected tough competition from senior standout Chloe Jenkins, who had 15 points — but it was Christian who put her Panthers on top late in the game.
“They had a girl step up, No. 21…[Christian] really stepped up…obviously Chloe is a good player so we were really focused on her… we kinda told our girls, hey, if somebody else beats us we’ll have to tip our hat to ’em,” Coach Wyant said. “So she came up big for them, hit three threes… but at the end of the day if we had taken care of ourselves I think we would have won the game.”
Purdham opened the game with a pair of three-pointers, the second serving as one of seven lead changes in the first half. The home team could have opened up a lead as the visitors committed eight turnovers in the first eight minutes, but the “home” Panthers went 3-for-16 from the floor.
Despite a slightly worse ratio in the second frame, Purdham hit her third triple and was joined by junior Lindsay Babb with a shot from beyond the arc. Page would go 2-for-6 from the line during the second quarter, but Rapp would keep the door open by committing seven more turnovers. They would commit 11 more in the second half for a total of 26 turnovers for the game — a credit in large part to the Page defense.
“We played hard, and I think that’s part of it too, our defense and our press,” Coach Wyant said. “You know we don’t feel like we have the team where we can press all the time, but when we want to press we feel like we are decent at it. And I thought they did a pretty good job tonight. Did a good job on Chloe, she kinda makes ’em go.”
Rapp shot only 37 percent from the field for the game, which kept the first quarter tied at 9-9 and left the visitors with a narrow, one-point lead at halftime, 21-20. They would hit 62 percent from the line, while Page hit only 58 percent from the stripe. That proved to be part of the difference in the fourth.
Christian scored one of her three triples for the night during the third quarter, while Page got a second three-pointer from Babb. The home team went 3-for-4 from the line, but still fell behind by three at the break after 20 percent shooting, 34-31.
Despite Purdham opening the fourth quarter with two consecutive three-pointers, Page County would only hit half their shots in half a dozen trips to the charity stripe. Meanwhile, the visitors knocked down a hat trick of triples and stayed just ahead of the hosts. The margin was seven points at its height.
In addition to Purdham’s 31, Babb recorded six points and junior Adi Caton added five. Caton fouled out of the game with just under a minute remaining.
For Rappahannock, behind Christian’s 16 and Jenkins’ 15, sophomore Sydney Clem posted seven points and sophomore Emily Scheulen added six. After losing their opener to William Monroe on Dec. 1, Rapp (1-0, 1-1) hopes to pick up a second win on Saturday, Dec. 27 when they host Buffalo Gap at 11 a.m.
Page County (0-1, 2-4) will travel to Riverheads for a 6 p.m. tip on Monday, Dec. 22. The Panthers have one more game before the New Year on Monday, Dec. 29, when they host Sherando at 4 p.m. Page returns to Bull Run action on Friday, Jan. 2 when they host Strasburg for a 7 p.m. tip.
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
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